


Play Date

by sweetdreamsofgelato (Dolceamara)



Category: British Actor RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Snark, mentions of drinking, play dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:29:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26405002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dolceamara/pseuds/sweetdreamsofgelato
Summary: Henry is on play date duty and he is UNPREPARED
Relationships: Henry Cavill/Reader, henry cavill/y/n
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Play Date

**Author's Note:**

> anon request
> 
> Hi! I have just checked that your requests are open?! I would be requesting a daddy!Cavill where it is supposed to be playdate day, and Jenn, Henry’s wife is supposed to take their little girl to the park to play with the other neighbourhood kids. But an unexpected meeting comes and it’s Henners who shows up with some home made cupcakes and the moms just go all crazy around him? When he comes home to his wife Jenn he just simply wants to tell her how he is not going alone again to a playdate 😅
> 
> Thank you so much for this request! I was very excited to write this because 1) daddy!cavill has been on my mind a lot lately and 2) I have a deep-seated loathing for play dates. 😅

“Henry, darling, I’ve got to go.” Y/N rushed into the kitchen but immediately stopped to draw in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and sighed dreamily. “Goodness, it smells amazing in here.”

The kitchen was pleasantly warm, and the air was heavily scented with the sweet aromas of vanilla and sugar. Henry, clad in both his favourite apron (emblazoned with “Not all superheroes wear capes…some wear aprons”) and a generous dusting of flour, stood in front of the large kitchen island whilst he applied a thick layer of pink frosting atop a small cupcake. He was surrounded by a multitude of used and discarded bowls and utensils, all covered with any manner of substances, and the hard quartz countertop was spattered with dried specks of batter and frosting. Ensconced safely in the corner of the opposite counter were enough cupcakes to feed a small army.

Henry was not known for being a fastidiously clean cook, yet the mess was impressive, even by his standards.

He followed Y/N’s line of sight and shrugged. “I made extra, just in case, and before you say anything, I promise to clean up.” He flicked his wrist and gave the frosting a delicately swooped finish and set it aside, then picked up another and repeated the process with practised precision.

Y/N nodded gratefully. “Thanks again for taking Ellie to her play date. I owe you one. I should be home well before dinner if the meeting doesn’t run late.”

“Not so fast!” Henry abandoned the cupcake he was frosting, ditched his soiled apron, and wiped his hands on a small towel as he quickly rounded the counter. He hooked Y/N around the waist and drew her into a warm hug, dropping a tender kiss on her mouth.

He let out a contented hum when Y/N’s arms slid around his neck, and his voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. “You smell much better than the cupcakes, by the way.”

“You’ve been sneaking licks of frosting, haven’t you?” Y/N’s tongue slid slowly over her bottom lip.

Henry put on an air of innocence. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“I can taste it.” Y/N slid him a shrewd, sideways sort of look before dropping one last quick kiss on his mouth. “Mmm, my favourite.”

Before Henry could capitalize on her teasing, she hastily extracted herself and shooed him back to his work. She knew if she let him have his way, he’d make her late.

“Keys, keys, keys…” Y/N’s hands ran over her coat pockets and made frantic glances at the wall clock above the garden door as she searched the kitchen.

Henry leaned back and plucked them out from under a piece of baking parchment on the opposite counter. He gave them a jingle and held them out to her.

“Thank you,” She heaved a sigh of relief. “I could kiss you! I’ve no idea where my head is at this morning.”

“As for the former, you already did, but I wish you would again.” Henry flashed her a mischievous grin as he licked some frosting off his thumb. “As for the latter, I–”

Before he could completely redirect their conversation into something utterly wicked and far more entertaining, Ellie appeared in the doorway.

“Daddy, is it time to go yet?” she whined, shifting and twisting impatiently.

“Speaking of which,” Y/N cut in before her chance for escape was lost, “I will see you both later. Have fun with Daddy today.” She dropped a kiss on Ellie’s head before she bid them farewell and sailed out of the kitchen.

He waved, then turned to his daughter, leaned down, and dropped a kiss on her nose. “As soon as these are done, we can go.”

She bounced from foot to foot with excitement and asked eagerly, “May I help?”

“Absolutely.” He lifted her up and set her atop the stool in front of the kitchen island. “They will taste even better if you make them.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A dozen frosted cupcakes, two wardrobe changes, and a full-throttle sugar high later, they were at the neighbourhood park. As soon as her feet hit the grass, Ellie shot off toward her group of friends, and he was secretly grateful she knew where to go. Y/N forgot to mention who was attending, so he had no clue with whom he was supposed to meet. Rookie mistake, he thought with mild frustration.

Henry followed Ellie’s lead, which ended at a grouping of picnic tables. Ellie rushed over and joined the small throng of children clambering around the tables set with a generous picnic lunch and no shortage of snacks and sweets.

“Henry! Now, this is a surprise!” A mum with wavy auburn hair beckoned him over to their group.

He inwardly grimaced, because she looked vaguely familiar, but he had no recollection of her name. Henry was never fond of this particular part of social interactions: everyone knowing who he was, but he not knowing anyone else.

“Henry?” Another squeaked and spun around in alarm, nearly upending a pitcher of lemonade in the process. Her voice dropped to a panicked whisper. “Y/N’s Henry?” she hissed to the tall brunette standing next to her.

Two more made subtle grabs for their mobiles, and a few others –not so discreetly – did perfunctory checks of their appearances. 

Henry was a marked man; he could feel it in his bones. He was also woefully outnumbered.

“Oh my, did you make those? You are such a gem! Y/N is so lucky.” The short mum with a halo of blond curls smiled wistfully.

Henry laughed uneasily as he nervously thrust the boxes of cupcakes in her direction.

Any and all remnants of social ease abandoned him completely. He was fine one-on-one and with people he knew, and generally, he could manage official business when well prepared by his publicist, but in situations like these, Y/N always provided a buffer of protection. It was sorely missed at the moment.

Now he was on his own. Thrown into the deep end of the suburban hellscape without so much as a life vest. His eyes darted between the other mums – each looking more eager and expectant than the last – and he stamped down the urge to hoist Ellie over his shoulder and flee. 

“Actually, I made them.” Ellie, who was currently tucking into a plate of small sandwiches, corrected her with an imperiousness that befitted royalty.

He didn’t have it in him to scold her for her tone. She was his only ally, and he couldn’t afford to lose her.

“Oh…well, they are lovely. Thank you for bringing them.”

And then it started. The questions seemed to come at him from every direction, and Henry had a devil of a time trying to listen to one person and answer another at the same bloody time. He’d been tempted to make a joke about not being Superman, but, well…

He scowled to himself.

“All right, all right, the children have been fed.” The auburn-haired mum cut through the din with some sense of anticipation.

Henry looked around in surprise. The children were indeed gone. Whilst he had muddled through the flurry of greetings, selfies, and a few rather ruthless interrogations, the horde of children had finished, leaving only crumbs in their wake, and now were all squealing with joy on the playground. He spotted Ellie on the slide and felt a brief pang of guilt for not having paid better attention to her. At least some of the other mums were over at the playground keeping a watchful eye on everyone.

“Now, ladies – and Henry, of course…” 

Henry snapped to attention when he heard his name.

“…no one here would ever mistake you for anything other than what you are,” she continued with a waggish expression. There was another round of twittering and giggles. “Shall we have some refreshments?”

She withdrew two large bottles from a cooler bag and placed them on the picnic table with an audible thud. Two more followed, and then more after that. Henry was certain there were more containers on the table than there had been space in the bag to hold them. It was as if Mary Poppins suffered an ill-fated fall from grace and in turn, looted a wine shop.

Henry swallowed convulsively, wondering exactly what he had gotten himself into.

*~*~*~*~*~*

After several hours and a few grim moments during which he seriously questioned his life choices, Henry staggered into the living room, dazed and completely exhausted.

“No more play dates,” he said weakly as he braced himself against the doorframe and moaned, “Don’t ever make me fend for myself like that again.”

By the bay window across the room, Y/N was seated comfortably in a wingback chair with her feet propped up on the matching footstool. She warmed her hands with a cup of steaming tea as she focused on the book on her lap, glancing up only to briefly take in his bedraggled appearance before turning back her reading.

“Were the children that rambunctious?” She turned a page.

“Not the children,” he groused and collapsed face-first onto the overstuffed sofa, which creaked ominously in protest.

Y/N’s lips twitched with a suppressed smile. She gave him another once-over and a sly look before replying, “We both know that you are well-versed in and perfectly capable of handling packs of wild, wine-filled women.”

Henry spared a brief moment to shoot her a beleaguered look before he let his face drop back into the plush sofa.

Y/N set her teacup in its saucer and regarded him with sympathy. “They weren’t completely out of hand, were they?”

“Well, no.” Henry turned his face so that the seat cushions didn’t muffle his voice. “Everyone was perfectly nice and completely good-natured, but…” He huffed and levelled a sharp look at her, “I felt very much like a sacrificial lamb. You ought to have warned me.”

“I should think that warning the sacrificial lamb in advance is a bit counterproductive.” Y/N flashed a gamely smile at him before lifting her teacup to her lips again.

“Did you really have a meeting?” he muttered, mostly to himself.

“What was that, darling?”

“Nothing,” he continued wearily whilst he rubbed his temples as if trying to coax forward a memory. “They went six bottles deep.”

Her eyes were fixed on her book. “Only six?” she mused with no outward indication that she found this information to be surprising.

“Perhaps it was more, but to be honest, I lost count,” Henry grumbled and cast her a dubious, sidelong look, “Is this typical?”

“We have never been accused of not knowing how to have a good time.” She looked up whilst she idly flipped another page in her book.

Henry groaned as he shifted fully onto his side and propped his head on his hand. “Anyway, they all managed to walk home sober, children well in hand and completely without incident.” There was some measure of awe in his voice. “It was rather impressive, now that I think about it,” he murmured.

“Shall I sign you up for the next one, then?” Y/N asked the question shaded with barely-contained humour.

“Absolutely not!” He shot back, completely unrepentant before he buried his head under a cushion.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @ https://sweetdreamsofgelato.tumblr.com/


End file.
